In the wake of Cylone Yasi

When I arrived at James Cook University in Townsville many people on campus kept telling me, "It usually looks much prettier than this". While that may be true, the aftermath of Cyclone Yasi was still a sight to behold.

a pulverised shed outside Uni Hall

A down tree next to the sign for the Rotary International House, where I live

The storm made landfall in between Townsville and Cairns, a city located about 280km up the coast. Yasi was a category 5 cyclone, mind you (the same force as Hurricane Katrina).

The impeded view out of a door at University (Uni) Hall

It's very difficult to communicate the magnitude of the damage through pictures. This panorama shows the damage a bit better in one parking lot.

The damage I saw first-hand was that which occurred at JCU. Yasi had knocked out power to the entire campus and most of Townsville. Mighty trees had been felled by the wind and now hung draped lifelessly over car parks and the occasional unfortunate shed. Many trees were uprooted all together. Sections of road had also been completely washed out.

I was surprised by the timely clean-up efforts that took place here (although clean-up is an understatement). Road crews worked diligently to repair roads and clear brush. By now its been close to a month since the cyclone made landfall, and things are looking a bit less out-of-sorts.

Lone Pine Sanctuary, Brisbane

In Brisbane our next adventure took us to Lone Pine Sanctuary. What a way to get up close to Australia's amazing fauna. The largest group of residents there were the koalas-- over 130 of them! Many sat nestled in the crotch of eucalyptus trees riding out the rain showers that passed through that day.




Koalas are quiet yet fascinating little guys. The combination of their facial features and style of movement remind me so much of Yoda! I almost expected one to turn towards me and say, "When nine hundred years old YOU reach, look as good YOU will not, HMM?!"


We even got the chance to hold one of the koalas! I interlocked my palms as I had been intstructed to do by the trainer, and a koala named Misty was lowered gently into my arms. She instinctively reached her paws up to grab hold of my shoulder.


The koalas seemed quite content in whomever's arms they were plopped into.



After our time with the koalas we headed through a fence that enclosed a couple acres of grassland dotted by sporadic trees. This was the home of the kangaroos, wallabies and emus! Just over the crest of the first hill many kangaroos were grazing happily on a patch of grass.



I was taken aback by how tame they were. At first I approached one of the kangaroos cautiously-- I knew how strong those back legs were and I didn't want to startle the fellow. My slow approach paid off as I got close enough to touch his wet but soft fur. Eventually he meandered to another patch of grass, propping himself up on his tail to move forward a step or two, or rather a 'hop' (as you can see above).


There were also many little wallabies about as well!







We were also greeted by an emu who had quite the crazy hair-do due to the rain!



Ben dared to get much closer to the emu than I deemed was appropriate if you wanted to keep all your limbs intact, as you can see...


Another bird that was arguably even more spectacular than the emu was the cassowary. I have never encountered a creature that reminded me so much of a dinosaur as this one did. The great horn-like crest on her head is called a casque, I found out! That, coupled with her bright colors and sheer size made for quite an impressive animal! Whoever once dismissed the idea that birds did not evolve from dinosaurs had probably never been to Australia! ;)


Also, here is a little video I shot of the kangaroos... enjoy!

Off on a Whirlwind Adventure!

Hi all! I've finally made it to the land Down Under. Travel plans were changed a bit at the last minute as there were two major weather events to avoid-- a category 5 cyclone (the scale of Hurricane Katrina) and the blizzard that hit Chicago, where I was supposed to catch a connection to LA.

The top news story... how comforting

Cyclone Yasi made landfall in between Townsville (where I'm studying) and Cairns (where orientation was supposed to take place). Many people were evacuated from the area, and thankfully there were no deaths that I know of. The cyclone did cause significant damage to trees, power lines, and infrastructure.

Due to the incliment weather, our orientation was held in Brisbane. Our flight across the Pacific was about fourteen hours long, and was as comfy as can be expected. I enjoyed checking the flight tracking screen every now and again!

Crossing the international date line

Once in Brisbane we stayed at a lovely backpackers' hostel, and it was here I tasted the famous Vegemite on my morning toast. I admire the Aussies for their ability to down a salty, yeasty spoonful of the stuff, but I cannot. A meal I much preferred was 'roo rump on the barbie. I felt it was rather fitting that our first meal consisted of kangaroo! They are so darn cute though!

Roo!

The view of Brisbane from our hostel

I also had my first drink in Brisbane (the drinking age is eighteen here). Foster's is not Australian for beer, XXXX Gold is. :)

I've already met some great people in my programme. During our stay in Brisbane we explored the city and took a day trip down to the Gold Coast. On the train ride south we played the kinds of mind games (like "The Coin Game") that drive me nuts when I don't understand them!

At the Gold Coast we were greeted by miles of white-sand beach stretched out before us, framed on one side by skyscrapers and by the vast Pacific Ocean on the other. The beach was crowded with people. Kids and adults alike enjoyed the waves, and the lifeguards were careful to keep us inside the section of beach bounded by red and yellow flags.

Although I generally prefer the beaches that are tucked away and far from the crowds, the large waves at this beach were great

fun. It's quite something to feel the power of the waves toss you about as you lose track of which way is up! (I come up sputtering with a mouth full of seawater but a smile on my face every time--much to the amusement of me mates).

During our time in Brisbane we also explored the nearby rainforest on a guided tour. The lush green color of the rain forest is such a stark contrast to the limited palette of a beautiful Minnesota winter. We passed under waterfalls and over natural bridges.

We passed through some pretty amazing rock formations in the rain forest!

One of the coolest critters we saw on our walks was the Lamington Plateau Crayfish (Euastacus sulcatus). His armor was colored white and electric blue!

Cicada ectoskeletons cling to the trees in the rain forest. These guys stay buried underground for seven to ten years before hatching!

A strangler fig that has overcome the tree beneath it.

A golden orb weaver-- these guys are huge!

Much more to come! I hope all of you at home are bearing with the winter, while it lasts! Here I've learned that 100% humidity doesn't necessarily mean it's raining!